I am new here to this site and came accross it when I was colaborating as much Publication as I possible could....... and so thought it might help if I spoke to a few of you!!

I am in Australia and I myself personally have completed my Cert II in Hairdressing aswell as multiple Certificates in Hair Extensions Application and Removal for many methods. Until recently I was mostly using Micro Fusion/Bonding. I have been applying extensions for 23months and enjoy it muchly.

I recently undergone a PD and Training for Shrinkies, after about 4 months of Testing them myself for Endurance, cost etc etc I am now finally happy and confident to install them and charge my clients and have been doing so for about 2months.

Anyways that enough about me....

I recently had a network meeting with one of my City's major Distributers and was shocked when she told me that another major Distribution Co is trying to Patent the Shrinkie Method as her own

This means that she is hoping to have a Certification and rights over this method. I know for a fact (and myself stumbled accross shrinkies a year ago) that shrinkies have been practised in other countries for quite some time. If this Ditributor is successful then she will then have the right to sue any other Techs that use "her" Technique. The only Tech's that will be able to use "her" method will be students that have paid to do training with her only, buy her hair only and buy her shrinkies only.

I have contacted a few US Distributors for some support ( as this will mean a major drop in sales for them) and I have not heard anything back as yet. Fingers Crossed.

What I need is any further Publication to prove to our Patent Lawyer that the Method of attaching the Shrinkies to the clients scalp was invented before this woman is claiming that she invented it.

Does any body have a spare hour to help me out? This will be a huge shamn if this Distributor is successful and the whole of Australia will loose out.

Welcome to the forum Cassie, I have moved your post into the Extensions Forum where it will get more views. The chitchat/introductions forum just doesnt get alot of traffic.

Not sure how all of the patent laws works in your country, but here in the US there is someone who has a patent on Shrink Links. Which is Mark Barrington. He has held this patent for years. But that hasnt stopped others from making, selling and using basically the same product and method. There was alot of fighting, fueding and bickering over this subject for several years but in the end they are all still selling and using this product.

Seems rather odd to me that someone is trying to patent a method that is widely used and has been a round for MANY years.

Look up US patents, Mark Barrington and Shrink Links. You should turn up his patent rights.

I am new here to this site and came accross it when I was colaborating as much Publication as I possible could....... and so thought it might help if I spoke to a few of you!!

I am in Australia and I myself personally have completed my Cert II in Hairdressing aswell as multiple Certificates in Hair Extensions Application and Removal for many methods. Until recently I was mostly using Micro Fusion/Bonding. I have been applying extensions for 23months and enjoy it muchly.

I recently undergone a PD and Training for Shrinkies, after about 4 months of Testing them myself for Endurance, cost etc etc I am now finally happy and confident to install them and charge my clients and have been doing so for about 2months.

Anyways that enough about me....

I recently had a network meeting with one of my City's major Distributers and was shocked when she told me that another major Distribution Co is trying to Patent the Shrinkie Method as her own

This means that she is hoping to have a Certification and rights over this method. I know for a fact (and myself stumbled accross shrinkies a year ago) that shrinkies have been practised in other countries for quite some time. If this Ditributor is successful then she will then have the right to sue any other Techs that use "her" Technique. The only Tech's that will be able to use "her" method will be students that have paid to do training with her only, buy her hair only and buy her shrinkies only.

I have contacted a few US Distributors for some support ( as this will mean a major drop in sales for them) and I have not heard anything back as yet. Fingers Crossed.

What I need is any further Publication to prove to our Patent Lawyer that the Method of attaching the Shrinkies to the clients scalp was invented before this woman is claiming that she invented it.

Does any body have a spare hour to help me out? This will be a huge shamn if this Distributor is successful and the whole of Australia will loose out.

I remember when Doctored Locks first debuted their knock off of shrink links and Mark Barrington did try to take legal action to stop them. Eventually he said it was a waste of time after and money, so he didn't continue with his case.

I don't think patents in the US, at least for hair stuff, mean diddly doo-doo!

By the way, Mark Barrington's shrink links company was just recently sold to Extensions Plus.

I have a little bit of experience with U.S. patents, not international ones though. It doesn't actually matter who invented the product, the only thing that matters is who gets to the patent office first. To patent a product is extremely time consuming and very expensive. Once you have your patent then how do you enforce it? You would have to find a way to somehow know when, and how your product is being used, and by whom, without being licensed by you and that is next to impossible. If someone uses a product or process that is similar but not exactly the same and uses a different name, you might have no legal recourse at all. Sometimes having a patent can actually be detrimental because it puts the world on notice your product is out there (the patent office records are public and when you file for your provisional patent you have to provide detailed descriptions and/or drawings/diagrams) and there will always be those who will use your design. If you DO happen to find out about someone infringing upon your patent, you can contact the person/company committing the infringement and ask them to cease and desist. If you're lucky they will say, "Oh sorry my bad." and if you're really lucky they will make a deal to compensate you in some form. But if they don't, then you have to file a lawsuit and that can run into tens of thousands of dollars or more. If you are lucky or unlucky enough that a large company with deep pockets has decided they like your product and is not ethical and uses it as their own, knowing you will never have the money to fight them then you are SOL. I have come to the conclusion that to patent a product is not worth it, unless you are a large corporation with tons of bucks, or you have truly re-invented the wheel and have venture capital people to back you financially.

That was a great summary of the nonsense that are patents! Those were the reasons why Mark Barrington didn't pursue his patent infringement. He sent a cease and desist letter to Doctored Locks, but they continued to sell the product, so I guess it didn't go over too well...In the end it's not worth spending all the money to fight it.